The first Gaelic soap opera in 20 years

[Iain MacLean - Presenter] The first soap in twenty years is being filmed just now in the Isle of Skye. They are making three pilots of the story, Bannan (Ties), written by Chrisella Ross from Lewis. It is expected to be on BBC ALBA next year. The producer wants a drama industry to be based on the Island. This report by Eilidh MacLeod.

[Eilidh MacLeod – Reporter] The actors and crew of Bannan are in their second week of recording. The director earned a reputation as an actor himself in River City, mainly. But in the twenty years in front of the camera, or on the stage, he never received direction in Gaelic.

[Tony Kearney] In a way, it was an unbelievable situation. We are now where we are, you know, 2013 and we are giving direction to the actors in Gaelic and that has an impact on the programme, there is an impact on the sort of performance that we are getting.

[Eilidh MacLeod – Reporter] The main character, a young woman with an history, doesn’t appear in this part of the drama.

[Debbie MacKay] She left the island eight years ago. We find out in the programme why she left. But she has now returned for a funeral and that is where we pick up the story when she comes off the ferry. And she doesn’t tell anyone why she has returned, but as the islands work, someone finds out that she is home, that is where we pick up the story.

[Eilidh MacLeod – Reporter] There are about forty people involved in filming between the technical staff and the actors. Many are appearing on camera for the first time.

[Peggy Wood] Oh, it’s totally different, totally different. If you lose a word here, well, they’ll stop and they’ll go back, they’ll do it again and again until you get it right. When you are on the stage, you have to have it. You have to have it. You can’t stop and look at a book and start again.

[Eilidh MacLeod – Reporter] This is the town where the drama happens and there is a view that this can be the first step in basing a television drama industry in the north, instead of the big city.

[Chris Young] In the Gaelic world, there are many people with talent in writing, or directing and it’s an opportunity just now to do something new and interesting and why wouldn’t I want to make drama here?

[Eilidh MacLeod – Reporter] Viewers will see the drama next year when three pilots will be broadcast. It depends on how well the story resonates with them and if they want to see more which will inspire the people with the money. Eilidh MacLeod, BBC An Là, Skye.

A' chiad siabann Gàidhlig ann am fichead bliadhna

(The first Gaelic soap opera in 20 years)

VocabularyBriathrachas

siabann Gàidhlig - Gaelic soap

paidhleatan - pilots

do-chreidsinneach - unlimited

tìodhlacadh - funeral

stiùireadh - directing

CuideachadhHow to use this site

Tha Learn Gaelic le An Là ag amas air luchd-ionnsachaidh na Gàidhlig a tha, le beagan misneachd, deiseil airson ceum air adhart a ghabhail. Tha an t-susbaint freagarrach dhan h-uile neach-ionnsachaidh, ach bidh e nas cuideachaile do dhaoine a tha seachad air an ìre Tòiseachaidh.Learn Gaelic with An Là is aimed at learners who have already gained some confidence in Gaelic and want to take their learning to the next level. The material is suitable for all learners, but those who have progressed beyond the Beginner level will find this section particularly useful.

Bidh sinn a’ cur sgeulachdan bhon phrògram BBC An Là beò gach seachdain, le tar-sgrìobhadh Gàidhlig is eadar-theangachadh Beurla. Bidh dath an teacsa ag atharrachadh nuair a thèid facal a chluich. ‘S urrainnear cliogadh air facal sònraichte agus cluichidh am bhidio bhon sin a-mach. Dh’fhaodadh gum biodh seo cuideachail dha luchd-ionnsachaidh airson fuaimneachadh a dhearbhadh. Stories from the BBC ALBA Gaelic news programme "An Là" are uploaded on a weekly basis, with a Gaelic transcript and an English translation. As each Gaelic word is spoken, the accompanying text changes colour. Individual words can be selected with a simple click and the video will play from that point onwards. Learners may find this useful for checking pronunciation.

Bidh gach paragraf Gàidhlig a’ gluasad ri linn na h-aithris, ach faodar cuideachd na bàraichean-sgrolaidh a ghluasad gu earrann shònraichte den aithris.Each Gaelic paragraph automatically scrolls in conjunction with the news report, but the manual scrolling bars can also be used to move the text to a particular section of the report.

Chithear an tar-sgrìobhadh Gàidhlig anns a’ chiad dol a-mach. Ach, gheibhear eadar-theangachadh Beurla den tar-sgrìobhadh le bhith a’ taghadh Beurla no Gàidhlig agus Beurla.The Gaelic transcript is shown by default. However, you can see a translation of the transcript by selecting the English or Gaelic and English tabs.

Tha briathrachas cuideachd ri fhaotainn, le faidhlichean fuaim Gàidhlig na chois. Tha a’ bhriathrachas air a thaghadh bhon aithris fhèin, le measgachadh leithid ainmean-àite, briathrachas naidheachd, gnathasan-cainnt is abairtean. Key vocabulary is also provided, with accompanying Gaelic audio. This is a selected from the vocabulary contained in the news report and may include a selection of place names, news terminology, useful colloquialisms and phrases.

Gheibhear an làraich seo air tablaidean is fònaichean-làimhe ach, a chionn ‘s gur e bhidiothan làn-sgrion a-mhàin a sheallas iPhone, bithear a’ cluich faidhle-fuaim seach bhidio.The site should work on mobile devices, but since iPhones will only show video full-screen and hide the transcript, we play an audio file instead of the video.